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Grey Area
from 2000 AD ''prog 1888]]Grey Area is a series created by Dan Abnett and Karl Richardson which began running in 2000 AD in prog 1764 (January 2012) after a pilot episode in prog 2012 (the 2011 Christmas edition). It has continued to appear at intervals ever since. Plot The series is mostly set in North America in the near future, starting in 2045 AD. Its eponymous location is Global Exo Segregation Zone or 'Grey Area', a huge plot of land (originally in Arizona) used to house the large number of extraterrestrial immigrants that arrive on Earth. A massive shanty town which acts as a holding area, it is policed by armed and armoured Exo Transfer Control Squads. The lead characters in the series are the squad led by Captain Adam Bulliet, including officers Birdy (Bulliet's lover and later wife), Feo, Manners and Kymn. Initially, the series appeared to be largely disconnected short stories, but over time continuing plot strands began to become more prominent. These included Bulliet and Birdy's relationship, and the potential consequences of Bulliet killing Ambassador Uuveth of the Arakshu, an alien who attempted to use his diplomatic immunity to avoid punishment for horrific acts of sadism committed against humans for his own gratification. The team also had to cope with the shock-waves caused by an ill-fated encounter between a group of Christian missionaries and some newly arrived aliens who considered the Christians "evil." (The aliens' reasoning was that all gods are evil, and so their worshippers must be too. They arrived at that conclusion after their own God tried to eat their planet, and they killed Him in retaliation.) The Earth then became gripped by a religious mania heralding the approach of a creature which appeared to be God, but which proved to be an alien entity capable of destroying worlds after first pacifying their populations with a rapture. Bulliet's squad were sent to intercept this 'God-Star', but they discovered that it was impossible to communicate with, and that it had been aimed at Earth by the Arakshu in response to Bulliet's killing of Uuveth. With no means of stopping the creature, Bulliet elected to arm a nuclear device in their ship and fly it straight down the creature's throat, which was effectively a wormhole. The device exploded and killed the monster, but Bulliet and his crew were sucked into the wormhole and emerged from the gullet of another God-Star on the other side of the galaxy. They spent some time as guests/prisoners in the Grey Area of a planet belonging to the telepathic Harmonious Free, trying to persuade the indigenous species that they were all in grave danger from the second God-Star. Bulliet's team eventually repelled the God-Star by using Kymn's language skills and the Harmonious Free's telepathy. During their sojourn on the planet of the Harmonious Free, Manners died and Birdy and Bulliet got married. The team (apart from Manners, of course) was eventually repatriated by a club of powerful alien species called the Congruence. Two of the Harmonious Free, Resting Bitch Face and Compelling Male Musk Odour, came back to Earth with them on a cultural exchange so they could work in the new Grey Area, based in New Mexico. Stories *''Meet and Greet'' by Abnett and Richardson (2000 AD prog 2012, then progs 1764 to 1766) *''Feel the Noise'' by Abnett and Richardson (2000 AD progs 1767 to 1769) *''The Do'' by Abnett and Lee Carter (2000 AD prog 1770) *''Personal Space'' by Abnett and Carter (2000 AD progs 1771 to 1773) *''Xenophobia'' by Abnett and Carter (2000 AD prog 1774) *''One of Our Own'' by Abnett and Carter (2000 AD progs 1785 to 1788) *''This Island Earth'' by Abnett and Carter (2000 AD progs 1800 to 1804) *''Did You Pack Your Own Luggage?'' by Abnett and Patrick Goddard (2000 AD progs 1863 to 1864) *''Short Straw'' by Abnett and Goddard (2000 AD prog 1865) *''All God's Children'' by Abnett and Goddard (2000 AD progs 1866 to 1868) *''Rates of Exchange'' by Abnett and Goddard (2000 AD progs 1869 to 1871) *''Visitation'' by Abnett and Mark Harrison (2000 AD prog 1872) *''I.D., Please'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1873) *''Nearer My God to Thee'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 1884 to 1888) *''Another Day on the Job'' (introducing Resting Bitch Face and Compelling Male Musk Odour) by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1924) *''Just Routine Questions'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 1925 to 1926) *''Locked In'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 1927 to 1930) *''Talk Down'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1931) *''Contact'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1945) *''First Bite'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1946) *''Feeding Frenzy'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1947) *''Deadline'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1948) *''Endgame'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1982) *''Big Day'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1983) *''Until Death'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1984) *''Last Call'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1985) *''Congruence'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1986) *''A Long Way Home'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 1987) *''Back In Black'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2035 to 2036) *''Batch Recall'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2037) *''Man Flu'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2038) *''Life on Earth'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2039) *''Border Ops'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2040 to 2041) *''Luwot Holiday'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2042) *''Signal Six Twenty-Four'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2043 to 2044) *''Homeland Security'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2050 to 2053) *''K.I.A'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2090 to 2091) *''Suspension'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2092) *''86'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2093) *''Laundry Room'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2094) *''Objectives'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2095 to 2096) *''Evidence'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2095 to 2097) *''Every Dirty Job'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2098) *''Whistleblower'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2118) *''Rogue'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2119) *''Hunted'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2120) *''The Grey & The Black'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2121) *''Shoot To Kill'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD prog 2122) *''Making History'' by Abnett and Harrison (2000 AD progs 2123 to 2125) Characters Bulliet 2.jpg|''Adam Bulliet'' Birdy 2.jpg|''Birdy'' Kymn 3.jpg|''Kymn'' Feo 2.jpg|''Feo'' Manners.jpg|''Manners'' Resting Bitch Face.jpg|''Resting Bitch Face'' Compelling Male Musk Odour.jpg|''Compelling Male Musk Odour'' Grell.jpg|''Grell'' Trivia Some of the names of the Harmonious Free: *Resting Bitch Face (female) *Possible Onset of Autumn (male) *Compelling Male Musk Odour (male) *Compound Fracture of Dreams (male) *Evening Sky Patina (female) Category:2000 AD strips Category:Adventure strips Category:Dan Abnett/Creator Category:Karl Richardson/Creator Category:Karl Richardson/Artist Category:Dan Abnett/Writer Category:Mark Harrison/Artist Category:Annie Parkhouse/Letterer Category:Lee Carter/Artist Category:Patrick Goddard/Artist Category:Patrick Goddard/Cover Artist Category:Mark Harrison/Cover Artist Category:Abigail Bulmer/Colourist Category:Cliff Robinson/Cover Artist Category:Karl Richardson/Penciler Category:Karl Richardson/Inker Category:Mark Harrison/Inker Category:Mark Harrison/Penciler Category:Ellie De Ville/Letterer